


Scout Sickness

by ficletsandthelike (schulia_jet)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Boy Scout Lance (Voltron), Gen, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Sick Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 21:52:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14839818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schulia_jet/pseuds/ficletsandthelike
Summary: Lance tries to show off his wilderness survival skills, but pushing through a cold while doing it may not be the best idea.





	Scout Sickness

“Shiro! Shiro, can you hear me?” Keith shouted into his helmet. Nothing but static filled the air, and Lance sighed from a few feet away.

“Give it up, Keith; Pidge already tried to reboot the system, and screaming at it is only making my headache worse,” Lance groaned, massaging his temples. Keith shoved the headgear back on in defeat. “What else is there to do but try? Sorry to hurt your sensitive ears, but maybe someone’ll realize something’s wrong and fix it from the castle,” Keith shot back. Before Lance could respond, Pidge interrupted their argument with a gesture to the sinking suns.

“Let’s try and find some shelter; once it’s dark, I’m sure Shiro and Allura will come to get us.” She shut her laptop in resolution, and the boys, exchanging glares, stood up and followed her into the forest.

“Why did anyone think it was a good idea to leave us here without a lion?” Lance coughed. His throat spasmed threateningly, but he brushed it off as they arrived at a promising cave. “This was explained in debriefing, Lance; there’s been a lot of Galra activity in the area.” Keith said in an exasperated tone. “We just wanted to keep the lions in one place, but no one thought that the planet’s atmosphere would interfere with the comms quite this much,” Pidge added, watching the haywire wavelengths scrawl across the her visor screen. “It’s still dumb,” Lance replied from the crook of his arm.

They found nothing but harmless moss, so they deemed the cavern safe for sleeping. Lance stretched, wincing at his aching joints, and turned to his teammates. “Shelter, check. Warmth? Not checked.” A unison growl came from their stomachs. “Food. Also not checked. Keith, you’re the fire spirit or something, so could you set up camp?” Keith nodded, disappearing to gather foliage. “While you guys are avoiding death, I’ll use my sharpshooting skills to catch us a meal,” said Lance, shooting imaginary prey for emphasis and wincing at the sudden movement. Not noticing, Pidge rolled her eyes affectionately and left her friend to dash into the woods.

Now that the rustling leaves were his only company, Lance became aware of how badly he hurt. Every inch of skin tingled unpleasantly, sending shivers down his spine; his armor wasn’t much help. Shaking his head, he activated his bayard and pushed through the undergrowth.

Lance froze at the sight of a creature far too heavy to be human blundering a ways ahead. He crept forward, hoping that his knees weren’t creaking as audibly as they sounded. He rose his rifle, took aim, and… “Got-!” Lance cut off, half due to missing the shot and half to break into a hacking fit. A few bursts of air ripped past his throat, causing him to double over until he regained composure. Coming back up with ragged breaths, he noticed a small sprig on the ground that his lost prey’s long tail had dropped, and he hobbled over to investigate; it was a twig, no bigger than Lance’s palm, covered in clusters of glossy berries.

He pumped his fist in celebration, ignoring the pain that shot through his wrist. “If some animal can eat these, I’d think they’ll be fine for us, right?” Lance asked into the dark. Locating a bush bearing the fruit nearby, he collected an armful and set off back to camp.

The cave was illuminated only by starlight as Lance returned; inside, Pidge and Keith were taking turns scrubbing flint together furiously in an attempt to make a spark. Dumping the berries, Lance walked over to the sad pile of scraps.

“Not a word, Lance,” Keith said through gritted teeth. “What’s that? Make a remark about how you found the wettest tinder possible and can’t start a campfire? Absolutely,” Lance retorted. Keith stood up and shoved the rocks at Lance. “Fine then!” He snapped. “If you’re going to complain, do it yourself.” 

Even wearing gloves, Lance had to bite back a yelp when he grabbed the flint and a sharp edge poked his finger. He stripped a bit of damp moss off the pile and was relieved to find it was dry underneath; a couple of sparks later and the three of them were eating by a roaring fire, Pidge hard at work while Lance gloated. 

“We get it, Lance, you were a Boy Scout,” Keith grumbled. “An Eagle Scout,” Lance corrected. “The best of the best, covered in patches earned from grueling hours of volunteer work and outdoor activity. It was all worth it for the pride shining in my mama’s eyes…” “And so you could be better at making a campfire than Keith,” Pidge smiled mischievously. “Certainly doesn’t hurt-” Lance felt the overwhelming itch of an impending coughing fit and swallowed hard, pretending to choke on a berry. “Too bad they didn’t teach you how to eat,” Keith taunted. Lance couldn’t stop; a pained cry bubbled past his lips, followed by coughs wracking his body. 

“Lance? Lance?!” His shoulder hit the floor, sending needles all through his arm. Lance tried to tell his friends he was alright, but more hacks scraped the words from his throat. Tears blurred his vision, registering only a red and white blob press against his cheek as he was lifted in the air. Despite the gentle handling, he grimaced at the sore spots blooming from contact. A distant roar sounded from the sky, and when light flooded the cave, Lance felt himself being jostled and whined in protest. Voices murmured, more and more distant, until he let the white swirl into black.

“…upgraded the system, so it should work under intense strain.” Hunk’s back focused in front of Lance, and he rubbed his eyes, sitting up with some difficulty. “I hope you’re talking about my immune system, ‘cause it doesn’t seem to be working as well as I’d hope,” he yawned.

The whole team collapsed in various stages of relief. “You scared us so much! You just dropped like a rock, and we didn’t know what to do…” Pidge sobbed, clutching his arm. “We were lucky Shiro and Allura found us so quickly,” said Keith. “Ah, the princess could never bear to be apart from me for long,” Lance winked, causing the whole group to groan fondly. 

“We noticed something was off when we tried to check on you, and it wasn’t until then that Coran thought to run diagnostics on the atmosphere,” Shiro told Lance.

“It turns out that a majority of the air is a gas toxic to nervous and respiratory systems, but Pidge was using her helmet for data reading, and Keith simply didn’t think to remove his until you all sat down to eat, so you were the only one exposed long enough to cause damage,” Allura explained. Keith crossed his arms. “In other words, you weren’t careful and it almost killed you.”

“The pods don’t work on poison, so you’re going to have to heal the old fashioned way,” Hunk said. “Lots of soup, blankets, and movie nights featuring Altean romance flicks and popcorn!” “That’s a good plan, but let’s get some sleep for now. It’s been a long day for everyone,” Shiro suggested. Unhearing, Hunk continued. “I was thinking maybe A Midflux’s Daydream, or The Holojournal…”

Lance was out by The Fault of Our Galaxy.


End file.
